A ventriloquist who also works as a private detective is hired by a mysterious woman struggling to deal with a stalker. As they begin their investigation, the PI and his dummy find themselves marooned, along with their client, at a creepy hotel in an isolated village. But when guests start dying, the duo realise they've got more than just a stalker to deal with. Usually when watching a murder mystery, the ventriloquist is the suspect. It's just a question of who's in charge; the dummy or the guy running them. But in an amusing twist,  The Dummy Detective  flips that on its head by having the dummy and his right hand man - so to speak - do the investigating. The whole thing kind of feels like a get together at Agatha Christie's house. Well, a puppet convention, anyway. The result is a crazy mash-up of genres and styles.  Set in the modern day, but inspired by classic noir movies. It's   And Then There Were None  with puppets.  All of which gives the mystery ...

During the Great Depression, sisters Tinsley and Mattie Wilde, two clueless socialites from New York, are sent to Washington State after their father commits suicide. There they face the elements, wild animals, merciless killers, and people they're used to looking down on. All without the creature comforts they are more than accustomed to. How will they survive? Everybody loves a fish-out-of-water story. Seeing someone struggle to adjust to a situation and/or environment they are clearly not suited to can be rather hilarious. Especially when said person is somewhat unlikeable. Which is exactly what you get with The Wilde Girls ... one of them, anyway. Writer/director Timothy Hines' cartoonishly calamitous trek into the woods is delightfully reminiscent of Disney 's classic cartoons. Tinsley (Lydia Pearl Pentz) and Mattie (Cali Scolari) lost in the wilderness is amusing all by itself, especially with Tinsley being so irritatingly snooty - think Jack Black as Bethany in Juman...

A meticulous diamond thief (Chris Hemsworth) targets jewellery stores neighbouring the 101 freeway in Los Angeles. In need of some intel for his next job, the thief begins cultivating a relationship with a high end insurance agent (Halle Berry), disappointed with the lack of forward motion in her career. All while the one cop (Mark Ruffalo) who has connected the 101 robberies slowly closes in. I think it's fair to say that Bart Layton's latest crime thriller has some serious Heat vibes. Obviously this works in the movie's favour, even if Crime 101  doesn't quite meet the incredibly high bar set by Michael Mann's classic tale of cops and robbers. But it is still a slick and stylish thriller, that sees Hemsworth's complicated thief steal millions of dollars in diamonds by intentionally avoiding violence. It's a brilliant performance, in which we see something a little different from the Thor  actor. Yes he's playing a career criminal, but not what you’d ca...

In 2029, a Los Angeles police officer finds himself on trial for the murder of his wife. His is the 19th case to be heard in the new 'Mercy Court'. Strapped to a special chair, Detective Chris Raven (Chris Pratt) has just 90 minutes to prove his innocence to an A.I. judge (Rebecca Ferguson), or he will be executed. Timur Bekmambetov continues to explore the 'screen life' genre with Mercy , only this time he's apparently weighing in on the Artificial Intelligence issue. Much like he did with Searching , Bekmambetov has his main character using screens to solve a crime, and in this case, prove his innocence. Pratt brings a likeability to Raven (great name!), but doesn't shy away from this troubled man's flaws. Whereas Rebecca Ferguson's portrayal of Maddox, the A.I. judge, can be a little uneven. At first she is perfectly cold and unemotional, but towards the end of the movie that begins to faulter, somewhat. Although it's definitely more the fault of ...

I've been thinking about Grosse Pointe Blank  a lot lately. Specifically, the scene in which Jeremy Piven repeatedly screams "TEN YEARS!!!" at John Cusack. Now you may be wondering why. Or, maybe not. Maybe you figured it out before you clicked the link. The point is, I don’t see another goddamn movie blogger, so pipe down. Anyway... ten years ago today, The Movie Moustache  went live. Although it was Moustache Movie News  back then. It all started with a little post about the then upcoming Jurassic World  sequel - what would turn out to be Fallen Kingdom   - and whether they should stop. Needless to say, they did not listen, as we've had three  Jurassic  sequels since then. And ten years later, even though I have enjoyed some of those sequels, I'm still wondering how many more dino adventures they could or should get out of this prehistoric franchise. But that's not the only milestone we've passed in the last decade. My favourite movie,  Ba...

Three improv actors are hired to do some low level undercover work for the police. But their improvisation leads them to accidentally infiltrate a major faction of London's criminal underworld. Have you ever sat through a movie waiting for the laughs to happen? That's was my experience with Deep Cover . Watching it with a group of friends, I was expecting the room to be filled with laughter, even if it was just at the ridiculousness of it all. But it never happened. There were some occasional smirks, that was it. And having finished watching it, the general consensus was that the movie is "watchable". It's a pretty standard story that aims for the usual sort of laughs. You certainly don't expect a movie like this to reinvent the wheel. However, the impressive cast do a pretty good job of setting the scene without ever trying to properly invest you in the story. Trouble is it's all painfully predictable. There are absolutely no surprises in store. And the a...

So Harry Bosch (Titus Welliver) has reached the end of another chapter in his onscreen life.  Warning: Contains spoilers for Bosch: Leagacy  season 3. As much as he has been hindered by his return to civilian life - we all know Harry misses wearing the badge - he has also enjoyed the freedom of not being bound by the rules and regulations that come with being a law enforcement officer. And that's what makes Bosch: Legacy  so enjoyable; our adventure with the great detective continues, only now he's embracing his inner outlaw. It gives the show a bit of a different feel too. Unlike its predecessor, which is very much a police procedural, Legacy  is more about Harry's own quest for justice. He's not quite Batman , but there is definitely a degree of vigilantism to his work as a private investigator. Over three seasons Bosch and his motley crew have gone after corrupt businessmen, tracked down long lost family, pursued serial killers and kidnappers - including one who t...

When jolly old Saint Nick, A.K.A. 'Red One' (J.K. Simmons) is kidnapped, the head of his security detail, Callum Drift (Dwayne Johnson) is forced to work with Jack O'Malley (Chris Evans) - a freelance hacker/tracker who claims he can find anyone, anywhere. But will the pair be able to get along in order to find Santa and save Christmas? With Red One , Jake Kasdan attempts to do for Christmas what he did for Jumanji ... and misses. Where Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle  and Jumanji: The Next Level  were light-hearted, silly, and featured The Rock doing something a little different, Red One  takes itself way too seriously, is overly cheesy, and for a supposed Christmas movie it isn't all that festive. As for Johnson, well he's simply playing the type of character he usually plays; tough but straight. On the other hand, his co-star Chris Evans delivers a fine performance as the loveable rogue/Christmas sceptic, even though it feels like he's simply trying to escape ...